Sackcloth and ashes

To wear or don sackcloth and ashes is to be contrite and sorry for some transgression and dates in this figurative sense since the 16th century. It derives from the ancient Jewish custom to wear sackcloth and to be dusted with ash as a sign of penitence and contrition. The origin is from the Bible where it is mentioned six times in the Old Testament and twice in the New. Its first appearance is Esther 4:1 “Mordecai rent his clothes, and put on sackcloth and ashes.”